Operation Northern Arrows: Israeli fighter jets hit over 1,600 Hezbollah targets in 24 hours
The Israeli Air Force struck over 1,600 Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley over the past 24 hours as part of “Operation Northern Arrows.”
Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in Southern Lebanon, as it seen from the Israeli side of the border, Sept. 23, 2024. Photo by David Cohen/Flash90.
Among the targets hit was a terror cell that launched 20 rockets at the Afula and HaAmakim areas in northern Israel overnight Monday. The launchers used in those attacks were also destroyed.
צה”ל תקף את חוליית המחבלים שירתה לעבר מרחב עפולה והעמקים במהלך הלילה ותקף את המשגרים>> pic.twitter.com/anSNgXK9Do
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 24, 2024
Trans. The IDF attacked the terrorist squad that fired towards the Afula area and the valleys during the night and attacked the launchers
Also overnight, Israel Defense Forces artillery and tanks struck additional Hezbollah targets in the area of Ayta ash Shab and Ramyeh in Southern Lebanon.
The overnight strikes come after Monday’s massive Israeli aerial offensive, during which fighter jets hit rocket launchers, command posts and structures, including civilian residences, used by Hezbollah to store munitions.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, 492 people were killed and 1,645 were wounded in the Israeli attacks. The ministry’s figures did not distinguish between combatants and noncombatants.
Hezbollah continued to launch rocket attacks on Tuesday morning, with sirens sounding in the northern Israeli coastal city of Nahariya and surrounding areas. Two rockets from Lebanon fell into the sea, according to the IDF. There were no injuries or damage.
Rocket alerts were also heard in communities in the Galilee region and near the large port city of Haifa.
The government on Monday evening approved the declaration of a “special emergency situation” countrywide, granting authorities more powers to ensure the safety of the civilian population. The declaration will expire after 48 hours unless extended by Cabinet ministers.
There were no specific changes to the Home Front Command instructions for areas of Israel outside of the northern region. However, there were changes to some border area communities, with no in-person educational activities in the Megido area, Yokneam Illit, Daliyat al-Karmel and Isfiya. The IDF Home Front Command had already cancelled school for communities from Haifa northwardsההתגוננותMeanwhile, foreign airlines continue to suspend flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport. Wizz Air, British Airways and Azerbaijan Airlines cancelled flights on Tuesday. The Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, announced on Monday that it was extending its suspension of flights to Ben Gurion Airport until Oct. 14.
On Monday night, the IDF provided video and photographic documentation of how Hezbollah stores munitions inside the homes of civilians in Southern Lebanon, including images of a long-range missile on a hydraulic system in the attic of a home in the village of Houmine al-Tahta.
“It is ready to launch from an opening in the roof. Under the attic, on the first floor, a Lebanese family lives, serving as a human shield,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press conference.
“This is an immediate and real threat to Israeli civilians, and we have an obligation to remove it,” he added.
Also, the IDF released video footage of an airstrike against a Lebanese home where Hezbollah had stored munitions. The video shows a rocket flying out of the building after the strike and hitting an adjacent house.
